U.S. oil, gas rig count drops by one for week

HOUSTON — Oilfield services company Baker Hughes says the number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. slipped by one this week to 1,762.

The Houston-based company said in its weekly report today that 1,318 rigs were exploring for oil and 439 for gas. Five were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago, Baker Hughes counted 2,007 working rigs.

Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas gained four rigs and Pennsylvania increased by three. Colorado and Oklahoma each lost two rigs, while Louisiana, North Dakota and Wyoming dropped one rig each. Alaska, Arkansas, California, New Mexico and West Virginia remained unchanged.